Red Light, Green Light
by Dobby101
Summary: Ellen Matthews is Two-Bit's younger sister. She's being challenged to a difficult history assignment in which she constantly procrastinates. Will she ever get the good grades her mom expects? Maybe with a little bit of help from a certain boy.
1. Chapter 1

-1**Disclaimer: The Outsiders and all the applies belongs to SE Hinton.**

**A/N: This will be updated periodically. Short, but it's the beginning. Happy reading!**

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Dropping her books onto the desk so they made a loud noise, Ellen Matthews sat in her seat next to Anna Green in her first period class of her junior year. She pulled out a dull pencil that looked like it still had chew marks on it from last year and went over to the mechanical sharpener to make it suitable to write with. She took as long as she could at the sharpener, eyeing up each person as they walked in the room.

Ellen hated the first week of school just because her classes from last year of which she had grown comfortable in were gone. She had been with this new group pf students for the last four days, but still she liked her last year class better. At least Anna was in this class though, it might make it more survivable. She studied a few kids walking into the class like Angela Shepard, who still could not figure out that eyeshadow was not meant to make one look like a raccoon and Ponyboy Curtis, who was part of her brother's group of friends. Ellen had heard he was really smart though and why he was in intermediate history was beyond her thought process.

She pushed her light brown hair behind her ear when she sat back down at her desk and preoccupied her time with picking at the corner of her secondhand notebook before the teacher came in. Anna had turned around and was talking to Angela otherwise Ellen might have been talking to her. She might even had joined in if the conversation was not about Anna's new boyfriend, who, in Ellen's opinion, was too Socy for his own good.

The door slammed shut unexpectedly, making almost half of the room's occupants jump in their seats. Without looking up, Ellen could already perfectly vision Ms. Rondell with her dark brown hair and black eyes.

"Open up to page twenty in your books," she told the class before going back to her desk and searching through a large stack of worksheets before she found what she was looking for. Ellen lazily flipped through the book before settling on the right page and she did not even bother to glance down at it's contents before picking up her pencil to start doodling on a scrap piece of paper.

She scrawled messily a few random circles and her initials in a few places. Then she moved her pencil to make a curved line and a straight one about an inch below it, placing her initials EM in the middle. She remembered the last time she had drawn this symbol somewhere. It had been the day before school had started and Ellen had been wandering around town. She turned corners and went down alleys she had never seen before until she reached a place behind one abandoned thrift shop.

There had a lot of old and outdated clothes in boxes placed everywhere. There was one trash can there that looked as if it had never been used for putting anything messy in. Ellen had sat back there for awhile, imagining the place as being busy and workers bustling around everywhere, setting up clothes and marking cheap prices. Then, she dug into her pocket and brought out a small pocket knife. Though it was nothing like her brother's beautiful switchblade, it worked for doing what Ellen did.

She walked over to the metal trash can, and right on the lid, she put the sharp tip of the knife. Then, without thinking twice, Ellen carved the curved line that looked like a frown and then the line and in between she marked the E and M. It was not anything special, but it showed that she had been there. She had made a mark there and now, sometime in the future, when that old abandoned building was being refurnished, somebody will stumble along the trash can and they might wonder who EM is. They might connect the initials to a spouses name or they might just blow it off. At least Ellen knew she would be thought of later on in life.

"Ellen, take the papers," James whispered back to her, waking Ellen up out of her daydream. She looked up and saw a stack of papers being waved in her face. She groaned and took the pile. Laying one on her desk, she passed the rest backwards.

She looked down at the sheet, which read at the top: History Project; The Oregon Trail. Her class was learning about pioneering in the early ages of America. But when Ellen leaned over to look at Anna's paper she saw that hers was on the Louisiana Purchase. She leaned to her right and Ponyboy had The Oregon Trail too. Had Ms. Rondell given out the wrong papers? It seemed unlikely. Ellen had heard stories about Rondell's class and most of them had her being smug about never getting anything wrong. Becoming naturally curious, Ellen looked around and saw that many of her classmates had different topics written on their papers.

"So, we are goin' to have a project worth one hundred points comin' up!" Ms. Rondell exclaimed excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as if she were stepping on hot coals. "Different topics have been passed out and ta make it easier on me, y'all are goin' to be paired up with whoever has the same topic as you. There should be three in a group. After I'm done talkin', ya'll will get into groups and plan out how ya are goin' to be doin' this.

"This project will be spanned out throughout the next few weeks and at least one part of the assignment will be due each week," Rondell said. "Your group will present each part once a week and you will be graded on your presentation, knowledge of the topic and the model ya choose to bring in. It could be a poster or diagram. Any questions?" Nobody raised their hand. "Alright, get into your groups."

There was a bustle around the room while everybody struggled to find their group mates and a few groans were let out when people found out who they had to work with, but Ellen leaned back in her seat and waited for the third person to make their way over to herself and Ponyboy. A small boy with dark hair that was greased back like Tim Shepard's came over and checked to make sure his paper matched up and then sat down. Ellen knew who the boy was, but could not remember his name.

"So, when do ya want to get together?" the boy asked.

"This is rank," Ellen sighed, tapping her pencil on the textbook in front of her. "But since I know Pony's house is always busier than a circus and I don't know where the hell ya live," Ellen motioned at the boy, "my house is free this weekend. Ma should be out workin' and Keith will be who knows where."

Pony glared at Ellen for a second, deciphering whether or not he should argue about whether his house was a circus or not. Obviously decided against it, he turned to the other boy and said, "Is that good with ya, Scott?"

A light when on in Ellen's head as she remembered who the boy was. He had been in her gym class last year. His full name was Scott Howard and he was nice enough.

Scott nodded and Ponyboy wrote something on his paper. Secretly, Ellen was glad she had Pony in her group because he was guaranteed to get her a good grade. And Scott was not that dumb either. At least now she could take home a passing grade to her mother. That might make her personal life a little better.

"We each need to bring some information," Pony said as he began to take charge. Ellen let him because she knew that if she did anything, they would for sure get a bad grade. "We'll worry about the poster later, just for now, look up whatever ya can."

The people in her group were quiet after Pony spoke and Ellen began to doodle on her paper again. She was not at all excited for this project because she was not one of those brainy people, but at least she was assured a good grade. After almost failing her sophomore year, she needed something to get her enough credits to graduate next year.


	2. Throughout the Town

-1** A/N: ****SE Hinton owns all characters you recognize. I can't seem to get my chapters up to 2000 words! Ugh...**

Thanks for reading and reviewing everybody!

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She shuffled her feet down the front porch steps and onto the sidewalk, turning randomly at every corner. It was Saturday and now Ellen was about to go roaming through town in search for some fun, as she did most weekends when Anna was out with her boyfriend. Ellen did not have many friends besides Anna. It was probably because Ellen never stayed in a place long enough to meet friends. Sure, she had been attending her school since kindergarten, but whenever kickball or something had started on the playground, Ellen had only been patient enough to get through an inning before wandering off somewhere else. But Anna understood that, which is why Ellen sort of gravitated towards her.

Ellen watched the people she passed with great interest, not once putting her head down to just stare at the ground. One little girl in particular stuck out to her. She had dark brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail and she was playing with a football, tossing it up and catching it. She looked lonely next to all the other kids playing on the swings next to her, but still she seemed to be having fun. But before Ellen could evaluate her more, she had already turned the next corner.

The sudden transition had landed her in an alley next to a convenience store. Unafraid, Ellen wandered down it, peeking inside windows in which laid rooms with no occupants, but Ellen kept going. She landed herself in a strangely shaped triangle back patio of the store. There was not much there besides a rickety old picnic table and an ashtray set in the middle. The whole place smelled like one of the payphone booths by her school where all the kids went to smoke in the middle of the day.

A dumpster was placed against the shorter wall and the only way into this little cove was either how Ellen had chanced upon it, or through a big metal door that was at the back of the convenience store. It was like a small employees lounge, Ellen guessed. The place did not seem that interesting, that is, until Ellen opened the big metal door and walked right into the back of the store. There were shelves stacked with boxes that were taped shut and a small ladder leaned against them.

Ellen wandered around for awhile, noticing the door that went out to the cash register and another that had a disgustingly dirty employees bathroom behind it. Ellen could hear the voices of people roaming around in the store and tried to imagine their faces. The one lady that was telling her daughter to stop crying had curly brown hair and a stuck up nose and the daughter looked like a similar version of her mother, except with her father's deep green eyes. Or so Ellen thought.

Slipping a hand into her back pocket, she pulled out her small pocketknife, in search of the perfect place to put her emblem. She found it right outside the scummy bathroom she had first passed before she had gone around the rest of the building. There was a huge painting there of just a bunch of colors thrown together. The owner of the store probably thought it helped lighten up the darkness of the backroom, but Ellen thought it just looked like puke. Yet, the huge rims of the frame made for her own canvas and Ellen quickly but accurately, carved her sign into the wood.

She marveled at her work for a moment before turning around, leaving it to be discovered by an employee later. Ellen nimbly slipped through the doors into the actual store part of the building and started browsing like she had been there for an hour before. The mom and daughter Ellen had heard before had apparently left because now there was no stern scolding like she had heard before.

As she wandered through the aisles, Ellen noticed a stocky figure with sideburns that were too large for his face and a dark greaser look to him. She watched for a few minutes, noticing his gradual and casual movements, his eyes grazing over the many items on the shelves. Ellen followed behind him, knowingly ready for what was coming. And just as she saw his hand swipe out of his jacket, she put her hands on her hips and made her voice into a deep baritone.

"Drop it, boy. I've seen ya wanderin' 'round this store, up to no good," she growled and the boy turned around without dropping the small knife he had picked up. He had a calm look on his boyish face.

"I was just lookin', I - Oh, hey El," Two-Bit said, frowning slightly and then a huge smile spread over his face. "I thought I told you never to interrupt me when I was workin'."

"I don't suppose this is Ma's idea of your first job," Ellen played. She rarely joked around except with her own brother. He had been telling her knock, knock jokes since they were kids and she felt comfortable kidding around with him.

"Well, good thing she still thinks I'm unemployed, right? Let's go before I do get caught. I think that fat fuzz will lock me up if he sees my face again," Two-Bit suggested and without pausing, the knife was safely hidden in the sleeve of his jacket and the two were quietly leaving the store.

"I'm sure it will only be to look at ya pretty face more often," Ellen laughed, head up and looking at everybody like she had on the way to the convenience store. Only this time, she let her older brother lead instead of her own two feet.

"I think that would be unfair to the rest of the world," he answered wittily, making his way down the street, knowing exactly where he was going.

"I suppose to a few people," Ellen said and then they were silent, the joking over. It was like their usual conversation, just a little bit of bantering back and forth and then silence. The golden silence, their Mom called it. She was usually sick of the kidding around by the time she was done with her second job and though Ellen and Two-Bit were rarely home together, it still got on her nerves. They always ended up telling her to lighten up, but it never worked. Ellen supposed being a single mom of two greasers was hard.

They walked along, each in their own trademark hunch, with only a few movements other than walking, like when Keith playfully pushed Ellen off the concrete when a car came speeding up the road towards them. With the talk of their mother, Ellen's thoughts landed on all the yelling that went on between the mother and daughter. They were constantly fighting, worse when Two-Bit was not around to loosen everybody up with a quick joke. Whether the fighting was about Ellen never being home to help out, or her shitty grades, the topics ranged. Tonight, if she went home, it would probably be about not having dinner ready because it was Saturday. No school on Saturday. Ellen loved the weekends just like any other greaser. It was her time to get out.

"Where ya headed?" Ellen asked, noticing the rows of houses coming up. Ellen did not like to wander around the houses because then there were a lot of angry lot owners that went ballistic if you 'defaced their property', as most liked to put it. She preferred searching around town. But still, she kept up a steady pace next to her brother.

"The Curtis', Soda's setting up a poker game," Two-Bit answered, finally taking the knife out of his sleeve and examining it.

Ellen took in it's exterior, noting that it was not anything special. Just a second hand thing probably bought by the store owner because he thought that if kids stole it, they might keep their hands off the other merchandise.

"Why do ya need that anyway, Keith?" Ellen called him by his first name, not because she detested the nickname, but because she was just so used to calling him that. It came naturally out of her mouth. "Didn't ya just swipe a fancy butterfly switchblade for ya own use?"

"Nah, this is for Pony. Mentioned he had some type of project he needed to cut stuff up for. Thought it might help since Dar's really low on money right now."

Something clicked in Ellen's mind that made her reach for the knife, turn around and start back down the street towards her own house. School. Saturday. Pony. Project. She totally forgot about the arrangement they had made in school that week to work on the project for history. She guessed it was around four o'clock now, which meant that her two group mates would have been waiting around for about an hour.

"See ya, Keith! I gotta go meet Pony," Ellen called out in short gasps. She was not a good runner, so when she turned the corner, she slowed tremendously to a quick walk. If it would have been dark out, she might have considered running a bit more, but it was embarrassing to be seen sprinting like you are running away from something on her side of town. It was like automatically being named a coward.

When she finally reached her house, she put on a calm face and faced Ponboy and Scott, who were sitting on her front porch with supplies for the project, which were now getting dirt on them from lying on the ground so long.

"Where were ya?" Pony snarled when he saw Ellen. They had only been on speaking terms for a day and already he did not like her. "Ya were supposed to be here helpin' with this damned project!"

"I was helpin' Keith swipe this for us," Ellen said, twirling the pocket knife in front of Pony's face. She was also telling a little white lie and she knew that Pony did not believe her. If anything, Ponyboy Curtis knew Two-Bit just like Ellen did and he damned well knew that he did not need any help in swiping stuff. Especially a small knife like when Ellen was holding up. "We can start now though."

"Actually, 'cause you don't seem to be carryin' any information about the Oregon Trail with ya, we can't," Pony angrily said. Ellen wondered why Scott was not putting in any of his two cents, and then knew it was because he was a quiet kid. All the time.

"Fine, come back tomorrow then, I'll be here."

"Why don't we just go to my house?" Pony suggested. "At least we know we'll be able to get in." He glared pointedly at Ellen.

"Fine, see ya, Curtis," Ellen said and with a quick bye to Scott, she walked up her porch steps and into the house, rolling her eyes as she went to the icebox to find something to drink.


End file.
